Miniature and portable electronic devices are among the fastest growing segments of the electronics industry. Among these devices are cellular phones operating with a ground cell network, satellite communication net terminals, laser and infrared measurement instruments, and work-stations including combinations of personal computers, facsimile machines with voice telecommunication terminals and notebook computers.
An important trend in the electronics industry has been the increasing utilization of integrated circuits as individual components due to their relatively inexpensive cost, miniature size, and electrical dependability. Today it is common for hundreds of complex integrated circuits to be treated as discrete components by the design engineer, with such integrated circuits being appropriately packaged and electrically connected to their associated printed circuit boards.
Many of the current electronic designs contain a variety of components such as, flexible, rigid, and semi-rigid printed circuit boards, hybrid circuits and large silicon integrated circuits. These components must be mounted together by electrical connectors having a plurality of terminal contacts which provide for inexpensive latching and containment of the electronic components. The known mounting techniques, such as surface mounting technology, plated through hole mounting, or a combination thereof, are used for mounting a multichip electronic module, or a mating connector or the like to a circuit board. However, known connector terminals which are small enough to satisfy the dense packaging requirements and have the desired strength suitable for withstanding the vibrations and shocks which are common to these applications have not provided a reliable latching mechanism for the electronic modules or mating connectors since the small, densely packed terminals are prone to breaking.
A trend in the industry has been toward taller connectors having dual beam type connector terminals commonly referred to as tuning-fork connectors. However, the height of these connector terminals is relatively large to provide that the terminals can withstand the associated mounting forces. Thus, these types of connectors are undesirable where the packaging design necessitates a low-profile connector.
Therefore, there is a need for a low cost, low profile, high density connector having a plurality of terminal contacts which can be easily manufactured, allows for simple and effective regulation of insertion forces and has the strength necessary for providing a reliable connection between an electronic module or the like and a printed circuit board. The present invention provides an electrical connector which satisfies this need.